Planning Center Inc. Increases Stock Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Planning Center Inc. grew its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 1.8% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 6,018 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 108 shares during the quarter. Planning Center Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $528,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. World Investment Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 271,515 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $24,532,000 after buying an additional 19,233 shares during the last quarter. Candriam S.C.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 209.7% in the fourth quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 885,008 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $79,960,000 after buying an additional 599,257 shares during the last quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 203,150 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $18,355,000 after buying an additional 9,292 shares during the last quarter. Cushing Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,124,000. Finally, GWN Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,658,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of WMT opened at $94.24 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $96.13 and its 200 day moving average is $94.11. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $66.55 and a fifty-two week high of $105.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $752.04 billion, a PE ratio of 40.27, a P/E/G ratio of 4.60 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.78.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.03. Walmart had a net margin of 2.75% and a return on equity of 21.76%. The company had revenue of $165.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $164.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.60 earnings per share. Walmart’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were given a $0.235 dividend. This represents a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $107.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 28th. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $117.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $106.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.63, for a total transaction of $2,493,888.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,972,517 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $340,166,630.71. The trade was a 0.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,760 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.82, for a total transaction of $166,883.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 520,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $49,332,475.50. The trade was a 0.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 135,294 shares of company stock worth $12,656,659. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Profile

Walmart Inc engages in the operation of retail, wholesale, other units, and eCommerce worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Walmart U.S., Walmart International, and Sam's Club. It operates supercenters, supermarkets, hypermarkets, warehouse clubs, cash and carry stores, and discount stores under Walmart and Walmart Neighborhood Market brands; membership-only warehouse clubs; ecommerce websites, such as walmart.com.mx, walmart.ca, flipkart.com, PhonePe and other sites; and mobile commerce applications.